ng is done. The back of the
patient, with the cups in even rows, looks to me like a muffin pan. Of
course I never go on the poll: I am not robust enough. My spankings I
take at home.

Another centre of interest is the _mikweh_, the name of which it is
indelicate to mention in the hearing of men. It is a large pool of
standing water, its depth graded by means of a flight of steps. Every
married woman must perform here certain ceremonious ablutions at
regular intervals. Cleanliness is as strictly enjoined as godliness,
and the manner of attaining it is carefully prescribed. The women are
prepared by the attendants for entering the pool, the curious children
looking on. In the pool they are ducked over their heads the correct
number of times. The water in the pool has been standing for days; it
does not look nor smell fresh. But we had no germs in Polotzk, so no
harm came of it, any more than of the pails used promiscuously by
feminine Polotzk. If any were so dainty as to have second thoughts
about the use of the common bath, they could enjoy, for a fee of
twenty-five kopecks, a private bathtub in another part of the
building. For the rich there were luxuries even in Polotzk.

Cleansed, red-skinned, and steaming, we return at last to the
dressing-room, to shiver, as we dress, in the cold drafts from the
entry door; and then, muffled up to the eyes, we plunge into the
refreshing outer air, and hurry home, looking like so many big bundles
running away with smaller bundles. If we meet acquaintances on the way
we are greeted with "_zu refueh_" ("to your good health"). If the
first man we meet is a Gentile, the women who have been to the mikweh
have to return and repeat the ceremony of purification. To prevent
such a calamity, the kerchief is worn hooded over the eyes, so as to
exclude unholy sights. At home we are indulged with extra pieces of
cake for tea, and otherwise treated like heroes returned from victory.
We narrate anecdotes of our expedition, and my mother complains that
my little brother is getting too old to be taken to the women's bath.
He will go hereafter with the men.

[Illustration: THE MEAT MARKET, POLOTZK]

My winter confinement was not shared by my older sister, who otherwise
was my constant companion. She went out more than I, not being so
afraid of the cold. She used to fret so when my mother was away in the
store that it became a custom for her to accompany my mother from the
time she was a mere